The GWJ Adventure Game Club - Main Thread

Yes, you filthy skimmer, but it's worth mentioning again, since we're on a new page.
EVERYONE, Pillars of the Earth is free with Twitch Prime!!!!

New list:
Nominated (still needs two confirmations):
Fred Pohl's Gateway (1992) - Tanglebones

Seconded (still needs one confirmation):
Contradiction - Spot the Liar! (2015) - mrlogical, Pyxistyx
To the Moon (2011) - Bubblefuzz, Higgledy
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure (2014) - Tanglebones, benign1
Machinarium (2009) - Higgledy, Eleima
Fran Bow (2016) - Bubblefuzz, Eleima
Anchorhead (1998) - Tanglebones, Pyxistyx
Gone Home (2013) - Stevintendo, SpacePPoliceman
A New Beginning (2010) - ClockworkHouse, PaladinTom
The Darkside Detective (2017) - Bubblefuzz, benign1
Little Briar Rose (2016) - Eleima, brokenclavicle
Full Throttle (1995) - brokenclavicle, SpacePPoliceman

Thirded (going on the list):
None at this time.

I've been thinking about my "Eleima's picks" and need some feedback. I'm going to be offering an extra game every month, but if it doesn't win, I'm not sure I really want to add it to the pool of candidates for following months. The only way I'd consider putting it back in the pool was if three other people were in favor of keeping it. As it is, I'm pretty sure Torin's Passage, for example, is not super well known, probably hasn't aged all that well, and might not be worth putting back in the candidate pool. Unless three of you disagree?
Thoughts?

It seems to make sense to have Eleima's picks as an offering for a month and then remove them. That way people can try them if they want or play them as an alternative to the main selection but those games aren't part of the main 'elected' list. As you say if three others champion the game and want it to stay until it's a main pick then that's a way in for them (in a sense though, I guess, the games have already been a pick of sorts.)

Maybe Eleima's Picks get their own pool? Which I guess is just Elemia's memory?

I would like to Nominate "Everyone's Gone to the Rapture." Gorgeous with a really interesting story told in a unique way.

I nominate The Inner World. Not sure if it's in the list already (I should check again hehehe), but I just got it for less than a dollar, so yeah.

Does Rime count?

Hobear wrote:

Does Rime count?

Sure does! It's defined as an "adventure puzzle game". It looks gorgeous, I'm seconding it.

New list:
Nominated (still needs two confirmations):
Fred Pohl's Gateway (1992) - Tanglebones
Everyone's Gone to the Rapture (2015) - Archer2r
The Inner World (2013) - brokenclavicle

Seconded (still needs one confirmation):
Contradiction - Spot the Liar! (2015) - mrlogical, Pyxistyx
To the Moon (2011) - Bubblefuzz, Higgledy
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure (2014) - Tanglebones, benign1
Machinarium (2009) - Higgledy, Eleima
Fran Bow (2016) - Bubblefuzz, Eleima
Anchorhead (1998) - Tanglebones, Pyxistyx
Gone Home (2013) - Stevintendo, SpacePPoliceman
A New Beginning (2010) - ClockworkHouse, PaladinTom
The Darkside Detective (2017) - Bubblefuzz, benign1
Little Briar Rose (2016) - Eleima, brokenclavicle
Full Throttle (1995) - brokenclavicle, SpacePPoliceman
Rime (2017) - Hobear, Eleima

Thirded (going on the list):
None at this time.

I really want to finish that game so I'll third Rime.

Right then, Rime goes on the list!

New list:
Nominated (still needs two confirmations):
Fred Pohl's Gateway (1992) - Tanglebones
Everyone's Gone to the Rapture (2015) - Archer2r
The Inner World (2013) - brokenclavicle

Seconded (still needs one confirmation):
Contradiction - Spot the Liar! (2015) - mrlogical, Pyxistyx
To the Moon (2011) - Bubblefuzz, Higgledy
Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure (2014) - Tanglebones, benign1
Machinarium (2009) - Higgledy, Eleima
Fran Bow (2016) - Bubblefuzz, Eleima
Anchorhead (1998) - Tanglebones, Pyxistyx
Gone Home (2013) - Stevintendo, SpacePPoliceman
A New Beginning (2010) - ClockworkHouse, PaladinTom
The Darkside Detective (2017) - Bubblefuzz, benign1
Little Briar Rose (2016) - Eleima, brokenclavicle
Full Throttle (1995) - brokenclavicle, SpacePPoliceman

Thirded (going on the list):
Rime (2017) - Hobear, Eleima, Higgledy

Incidentally, Rime is currently 50% on Steam.

So there's still time since today is only the tenth, and I haven't even played Oxenfree myself, but I'm thinking we might keep the same pattern as time, do a first round from the 15th to the 21st, and a second round from the 22nd to 25th. What do folks think? I'm even debating whether or not a second round is even warranted...

I'd only do a second round if there's not a clear winner in the first.

I'm happy for voting to start on the 15th, nice to have a couple of weeks to build up some anticipation.

About two rounds; personally, I don't think it's necessary unless there's a tie or two(+) titles are bouncing back and forth between first and second. If everyone's clear that they can vote for as many titles as they want, then the winner of the first round should work for the most people.

Greetings fellow adventurers!
So I'm going to be a horrible tease and announce that I've picked nine games at random for us to vote for tomorrow. I'm not telling you what they are... yet. But I will say those are some good ones!
I still haven't decided on my own pick yet, but the poll and descriptions will be up either late tonight or (more likely) tomorrow morning.

REMINDER: the poll is multiple choice, you can vote for all the games you'd like to play!

Eleima wrote:

Greetings fellow adventurers!
So I'm going to be a horrible tease and announce that I've picked nine games at random for us to vote for tomorrow. I'm not telling you what they are... yet. But I will say those are some good ones!
I still haven't decided on my own pick yet, but the poll and descriptions will be up either late tonight or (more likely) tomorrow morning.

REMINDER: the poll is multiple choice, you can vote for all the games you'd like to play!

Looking forward to the post, Eleima!

Can't wait to see this month's choices!

The poll is ready. need to prep my write up in between NaNoWriMo writing spurts. All shall be revealed tomorrow.

Oh. And that damn pick.
Wait. I think I’ve got it.

The survey is now live! (The poll will automatically close at midnight on November 22nd.)
General descriptions below with playtime estimates from HLTB (How Long To Beat).

  • Broken Age (2014, HLTB 10) - A family friendly, hand-animated, puzzle-filled adventure game with an all-star cast, including Elijah Wood, Jack Black and Masasa Moyo. Funded by a record breaking crowdfunding campaign and designed by industry legend Tim Schafer, Broken Age is a timeless coming-of-age story.
  • Memoria (2103, HLTB 9) - Two stories, two main characters, one epic experience: in Memoria, players travel through different time periods, while following two distinct protagonists: Sadja, a southern princess who wants to be a war hero, and Geron, a bird catcher who wants to lift a curse from his girlfriend.
  • Day of the Tentacle (1993, HLTB 6) - You're trying to save the world from an evil Purple Tentacle. 'nuff said.
  • Resonance (2012, HLTB 9) - When a brilliant particle physicist dies unexpectedly, the race is on to secure his terrible new technology before it falls into the wrong hands. The lives of four playable characters become entangled as they fight against the clock to find the dead scientist’s secret vault.
  • Firewatch (2016, HLTB 5) - Firewatch is a single-player first-person mystery set in the Wyoming wilderness, where your only emotional lifeline is the person on the other end of a handheld radio.
  • Gemini Rue (2013, HLTB 8) - Discover a world where life is cheap, identities are bought & sold, & a quest for redemption can change the fate of a whole galaxy.
  • Thimbleweed Park (2014, HMTB 14) - In Thimbleweed Park, a dead body is the least of your problems. Switch between five playable characters to uncover the surreal secrets of this strange town in a modern mystery adventure game from the creators of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion. The deeper you go, the weirder it gets.
  • Tacoma (2017, HLTB 3) - Tacoma is a sci-fi narrative adventure from the creators of Gone Home. Set aboard a high-tech space station in the year 2088, explore every detail of how the station’s crew lived and worked, finding the clues that add up to a gripping story of trust, fear, and resolve in the face of disaster.
  • Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth (2017, HLTB 15) - 12th century, England: In a time of poverty and war, a small town begins the construction of a cathedral to claim wealth and safety for its people. In their struggle to survive, lives and destinies intertwine. Based on Ken Follett's world-bestseller ‘The Pillars of the Earth’.
  • Eleima's Pick: Zork: Nemesis (1996, HLTB 6) - Travel through five mind-bending worlds to discover the ancient secret of Alchemy that will free the trapped souls from evil’s grip…Do you dare enter the Forbidden Lands? Beyond a doubt, my favorite adventure game of all time.

Once again, I ask that you not talk too much about your votes, so that the result can be revealed in the end. But feel free to try and convince people to vote for one of your favorites if you wish. After all, we're here to talk adventure games!

And once, more, reminder that Pillars of the Earth is free with Twitch Prime until November 30th!

Lots of solid games. Not sure I’d be disappointed if any of those won.

Agreed. As I could happily vote for the lot I'll probably limit my pick to just the one!

Great options! Not voting yet cause I wanna look into the titles I'm less familiar with. I'm glad I have multiple votes... It'd be tough to pick just one!

Full disclosure, I voted for five, so... Have at it. Don't limit yourself to one!

I'm going to pimp out my pick, Zork Nemesis, because well, it's my pick, and I love it to death.
IMAGE(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/571060/header.jpg)
It might be a little hard to play today, because the resolution is definitely a big step down from what we're used to today. However, if you can get past that, it's well worth playing. The world is incredible, the characters and their motivations are fascinating. There are puzzles, and maybe I'm biased because I know them all by heart now, but they aren't that hard. The music is absolutely stunning, and paints a gorgeous picture of the world you traverse (we have the brilliant and talented Mark Morgan to thank for it).

Sometimes it plays more like a thriller, or a detective game, as you're trying to piece together what the #%µ@ happened, but it's a beautiful game. It's not surprising it won the 1996 Spotlight Award for "Best Prerendered Art" from the Game Developers Conference, and was nominated for GOTY by Computer Games Strategy Plus, PC Gamer US, CNET Gamecenter and Computer Game Entertainment (oh my gosh, it occurs to me most of those have gone the way of the dodo).

Intro: "No one remembers exactly when it began, but I’ll never forget. It began on the day of the Great Eclipse, on the day of my murder. I've lost my only love - and I've lost my life. Now we all lie under the curse. Sometimes a single act can be so evil it can curse the world unraveling the future.
Only the four lost elements will bring the world back into balance. And I will live again. I have but one hope left ... and it is you. No one else dares come here..."

It's something very different from most adventure games, very much removed from the colorful LucasArts game. You'll never end up in a fail state like you do in Sierra games (well, you can be eaten by a grue, but it's a Zork game, so what did you expect?). Well worth your time.

Eleima wrote:

...you can be eaten by a grue...

You have my attention.

There is one in particular I would love to play, just a smidge above all others hence the one vote only. Which one I won't say, though if folks wanted to chit chat about how great Gone Home was and how interesting it would be to see what the creators did next, maybe in a Sci-Fi setting... I'd be fine with that

Bubblefuzz wrote:

There is one in particular I would love to play, just a smidge above all others hence the one vote only. Which one I won't say, though if folks wanted to chit chat about how great Gone Home was and how interesting it would be to see what the creators did next, maybe in a Sci-Fi setting... I'd be fine with that ;)

Tacoma is most certainly well worth playing and it's already on my GOTY list this year. I'd gladly play it again.

Aw, Zork... if only I had somewhere to run it. Alas, my current leftover lappy isn't much to look at - it's barely a toaster - and my other competent piece of hardware is a chromebook, so yeah.

I nevertheless voted and it's as follows:

Day of the Tentacle
Tacoma
Thimbleweed Park
Broken Age

Hell yeah, Zork Nemesis. I spent SO much time with this game when it was originally released and I was 14. I'm not sure whether I ever beat it. I know I spent countless hours banging my head against it and occasionally progressing, but am unsure whether I ever just loaded up a FAQ and got through to the end. I voted for that, Tacoma, Thimbleweed Park, and Pillars of the Earth. With the other three being games I haven't played that I would like to.

Eleima wrote:

Full disclosure, I voted for five, so... Have at it. Don't limit yourself to one!

I'm going to pimp out my pick, Zork Nemesis, because well, it's my pick, and I love it to death.
IMAGE(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/571060/header.jpg)

Definitely on my list of most beloved games ever. I was over the moon with it when it first came out - I would only play it after dark by candlelight, and kept an in-character journal of my adventure (almost room-by-room) as the PC. Kinda wish I still had that, though I'm pretty sure I found it a few years later and thought it was embarrassing enough to trash.

If you're looking to join in via console, your options are:

  • Broken Age (PS4/XBO/NS)
  • Day of the Tentacle (PS4)
  • Firewatch (PS4/XBO, NS coming soon)
  • Thimbleweed Park (PS4/XBO/NS)
  • Tacoma (PS4/XBO, NS coming soon)
  • Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth (PS4/XBO)

That is so helpful, ClockworkHouse. Thanks!

Prime subscribers, a reminder that Tacoma was a freebie earlier this year. Just in case you'd forgotten it was tucked away on your Twitch pile.